The death of trap in BC

I’m 36 and I shoot trap every weekend in southern bc. I mostly shoot with old guys in their 70s and 80s also. The next youngest guy besides me is 66. I try to get other young people involved and they just aren’t interested. I host a trap practice every Saturday and a meat shoot on the second Sunday of every month. We get the same 6-15 guys showing up everytime.
 
If you can get 6-15 people shooting trap on any given weekend you're doing great. Most big trap shoots that I have attended lately, other than the BC Provincials, are 30-50 shooters from all over the province. Do you have a trap range in Osoyoos or Oliver? I've shot in Vernon and Kelowna but not further south in the Okanagan.
 
bdft said:
I've been travelling around BC the last couple of weeks shooting trap. Just finished up in Fort St John and now I'm off to Prince George. One thing I've always noticed but is now becoming glaringly obvious is that trapshooters are old. Late 70's and 80's old. There's always a few young guys locally at every shoot but the majority of shooters who travel to shoots are retired. A lot of the organizers are close to retirement or retired too. I give it ten years before trap in BC can only be found in a few clubs in the lower mainland. I can't speak for the rest of Canada but trap in BC is not exactly thriving.
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Traditionally, Majority of Trap/skeet shooters have been more elderly or retired folks generally
 
Great little club in Oliver SOSA ,shot there many times has a new sporting clays field which I hear is great.
 
stubblejumper said:
Nobody at our club cares what shotgun a person shows up with , as long as it functions, and is safe. And we don't care what you shoot for a score, as long as you are safe, and not disruptive. On the other hand, some people do embarrass themselves, when they talk a big story, then shoot very poorly.
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That may be true at your club, but at the 3 clubs I have shot trap there has been comments, looks and body language/movements from older gents almost every visit towards younger people. One of those clubs seemingly has an over/under gun or you’re not cool mentality. It pisses them off when I shoot near perfect rounds with my 870 and if anyone shows up with anything near a tactical looking gun (read anything but a traditional looking O\U) it’s just ridiculous.

From what I have seen, the reason you see so few young people shooting trap, skeet, whatever is the fudd and elitist attitudes from the old boys. I personally don’t care as I have never been one to even consider, let alone care, what others think of me. But, with so many young people having such thin skin it’s quite easy to understand why the sport is dying off.

Cost is no issue and IMO is just an excuse being used for those who don’t want to admit what’s really happening.
 
canadian hunter312 said:
That may be true at your club, but at the 3 clubs I have shot trap there has been comments, looks and body language/movements from older gents almost every visit towards younger people. One of those clubs seemingly has an over/under gun or you’re not cool mentality. It pisses them off when I shoot near perfect rounds with my 870 and if anyone shows up with anything near a tactical looking gun (read anything but a traditional looking O\U) it’s just ridiculous.

From what I have seen, the reason you see so few young people shooting trap, skeet, whatever is the fudd and elitist attitudes from the old boys. I personally don’t care as I have never been one to even consider, let alone care, what others think of me. But, with so many young people having such thin skin it’s quite easy to understand why the sport is dying off.

Cost is no issue and IMO is just an excuse being used for those who don’t want to admit what’s really happening.
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I have shot regularly at four clubs, and have never experienced this. The only concern that I see, is if someone doesn't handle their firearm in a safe manner, or if they violate club rules, as in putting more than two rounds in the gun, or using shot that isn't allowed. As for the cost, it absolutely is a factor. some people are shooting less often, and some have quit altogether, after shooting for years with us, most are actually pensioners, and an extra $30-40 every day is more than they want to spend, with everything else going up in cost.
 
rmsg0040 said:
Trap is $20 minimum a round now ($8 per round, $12 box of ammo)

4 rounds is the most I will go now, that's $80 plus $20 in fuel, also factor in time and energy getting there and back.
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I have reloaded shot shells since 1970 & still do. My 1 oz. Trap Loads cost me ( in Ont.) $ 9.60 a box. Plus $5.00 to my club
so even with that it is $ 15. / round , plus gas to get there. Do not know what 1/2 day attivity is cheaper except a hike in the woods?
 
canadian hunter312 said:
That may be true at your club, but at the 3 clubs I have shot trap there has been comments, looks and body language/movements from older gents almost every visit towards younger people. One of those clubs seemingly has an over/under gun or you’re not cool mentality. It pisses them off when I shoot near perfect rounds with my 870 and if anyone shows up with anything near a tactical looking gun (read anything but a traditional looking O\U) it’s just ridiculous.

From what I have seen, the reason you see so few young people shooting trap, skeet, whatever is the fudd and elitist attitudes from the old boys. I personally don’t care as I have never been one to even consider, let alone care, what others think of me. But, with so many young people having such thin skin it’s quite easy to understand why the sport is dying off.

Cost is no issue and IMO is just an excuse being used for those who don’t want to admit what’s really happening.
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Some clubs could definitely improve their welcoming committee.
 
reddog said:
Great little club in Oliver SOSA ,shot there many times has a new sporting clays field which I hear is great.
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Do they really have sporting clays Last time I talked to them, they had implemented a 5-stand set up which they were calling sporting clays. Their current web site makes no mention of sporting clays.
 
bdft said:
When you consider how much a side by side or dirt bike is, or the price of ski equipment and a ski pass, or even golf, trap isn't that expensive. People spend tens of thousands restoring old cars, 5000.00 for a trap gun doesn't seem that bad.
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If you complete or even just shoot regularly you'll quickly spend more than $5,000 on targets and shells.
 
If I had to guess it's probably because old guys are retired and have the time and money to go travel around and shoot while the younger generations have to work and can't afford time off. Especially in this time where $30 an hour isn't enough to buy yourself a home.
 
Clubs all across Canada are suffering, the woke mentality that anything associated with guns or shooting is BAD coupled with record inflation, high ammo and target costs. I'm headed to Saskatoon this morning for our SATA ( Sask Amateur Trap Association ) annual AGM, I'll know by tonight what our membership numbers did in 2023 but I'm sure it is down again as is the number of targets thrown across the province. Last year I attended 8 different registered shoots and shot 7,400 targets and I can say that bar none shooter numbers were down at all but 1 of those shoots. 20 years ago we hosted the Sask provincials and it drew 150+ shooters, last year I think we had 42.
 
salter said:
Do they really have sporting clays Last time I talked to them, they had implemented a 5-stand set up which they were calling sporting clays. Their current web site makes no mention of sporting clays.
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We don't call it sporting clays, we have a new 5 stand setup on a new range and it gets better every week . 11 machines so far and more coming. Lot of shooters for where we are and some shooters driving 2 hours on a regular basis.
 
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